Getting into the Christmas Spirit

 There was no snow on the ground this year so Dexter and Daddy picked up our Christmas Tree from the Y with the little red wagon rather than the sled. Dexter got to pull the wagon home and help Daddy the tree for decorating.

 Dexy enjoyed putting up the ornaments. Perhaps inspired by the tractor sweatshirt he was wearing, he chose all the tractor ornaments to hang.

In true four-year-old-fashion, he tended to clump all the ornaments onto one small section of a couple of low branches (pulling them even lower).

Stomp Table

After cupcakes, Dexter was ready to burn off some sugar-energy and found a table in the corner that he started walking and dancing on. Ian came over and then the two of them played/stomped on the table. After the party, we went out to Sweet Tomatoes with Ian and his family and Dexter said, "Maybe tomorrow we can come back and play on the table again." Elissa said, "Maybe they'd let us do that for free!"

Tiny Bubbles

Dexy was so curious about the big machine that made tiny paint bubbles. He made a lovely paint bubble painting.

Making a Mess(terpiece)

 Ian had his 5th birthday party at "Make-a-Messterpiece". It was awesome! They supplied the kids with smocks and paints and paintbrushes and they all got to paint their own picture frame. 

Dexter got really into it! He was thoughtful about the colors he wanted to use and he put the paintbrushes back in the correct color paint.

 Had they stopped the activity when Dexter announced he was done, he would have had a multi-colored picture frame.  However, since no one stopped him, he kept going until the whole thing was a lovely shade of green-ish.

Christmas Village with Kim and Dylan

 I would probably have never taken Dexter down to Daley Plaza for Christmas Village but Kim and Dylan were in town for the weekend and wanted to meet us there.  Despite the rain, we had a great time hanging out with Kim and Dylan and Kim's friend, Nora.

Dexter drank out of Santa's boot in the warming tent. A woman asked me if he was drinking wine out of the boot - NO! It was grape juice!

Dexter and I went to Santa's house where Mrs. Claus kept trying to get Dexter's hair to lay down properly for his photo with Santa. It didn't work but the two of them had fun trying to tame that head of hair.

 Dexy was really excited to see Santa's toy factory - he almost didn't make it to see Santa because he was so preoccupied with cranking the conveyor belt to move the toys along.

Dexy also got a picture with Santa (and he got to tell Santa in person about the puppy dream light this time).

Dressing for the Weather

Dexter and I met Kim and Dylan and Kim's friend at Christmas Village in downtown Chicago on a rainy December Saturday. Dexter wisely chose to wear his rain boots.

Happy Birthday, Mom?

Dexter is getting the hang of writing his own name.  He's got a bit more practice to do with other words, like "Mom".